Discharges can effectively hit long-term fortifications
Incendiary ammunition with a burning temperature of up to 2,000 degrees has been created for unmanned aircraft. Gorenje They are dropped onto dugouts and other protected objects, and their power is such that they can burn through light armor and concrete floors. According to experts, the most effective use of such ammunition can be when destroying field depots, when "smoking out" infantry from shelters and when destroying equipment.
Incendiary ammunition for drones
Russia has developed and is already using powerful incendiary ammunition for UAVs that are dropped on enemy dugouts and other facilities, sources in the military department told Izvestia. When triggered, a temperature of up to 2,000 degrees is created, which makes it possible to reliably destroy the enemy by setting fire to shelters and basements of houses. This should greatly simplify the assault operations for the advancing troops.
"Incendiary ammunition is actively used to destroy, first of all, field depots in order to detonate the ammunition stored there," Roman Shkurlatov, chairman of the Officers of Russia public organization, told Izvestia. — Secondly, to "smoke out" the manpower from the dugouts: a fire starts, and the fire forces the enemy to leave the shelter. In the hot season, it is possible to create fires in forest areas where enemy fortifications are located. Fire and smoke are not conducive to them sitting there.
Photo: TASS/press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
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Such ammunition can also be used against vehicles, the expert added, "with a successful hit, it can cause the detonation of ammunition.
— They can also be effectively used to burn through unarmored vehicles and destroy them. This is a promising area, and the effectiveness of such ammunition can be confirmed," Roman Shkurlatov concluded.
Liquid or jelly—like compounds for incendiary ammunition are widely known - napalm, for example, which is designed to destroy uncovered targets in open areas, Oleg Zheltonozhko, a chemical weapons specialist, told Izvestia.
— Ammunition with a high gorenje temperature, as in our case, should be based on active metals, — he said. — Magnesium is one of such metals. Similar ammunition was developed and used during the Second World War.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
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The expert noted that such ammunition is quite expensive compared to those based on liquid formulations.
"When a high—temperature munition hits a target in the area of its combustion, it burns through the surface on which it fell," Oleg Zheltonozhko noted. Gorenje — It is able to burn through aluminum armor, which is now widely used, and leave a deep crater in a concrete or brick surface. The temperature rises strongly behind the barrier that it burns through. Moreover, in such a way that the ammunition of an armored combat vehicle or an ammunition depot will explode into the air, without waiting for open fire to reach them. The damaging effect is achieved due to the concentrated high temperature in a small area. It also provides high permeability. Concrete and armor do not save. Metal cannot be extinguished, water will only make it worse for those who want to try to defeat fire in this way.
With the necessary power, the munition can burn through the concrete floors of buildings on which it will be thrown, the expert noted.
"This property can be used in preparation for an assault," he drowned out. — In principle, they can be used to make holes in thick walls, but for this it must be fixed so that the temperature effect is on the barrier.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
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It will also be effective against concrete machine-gun pillboxes, which are being erected by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the rear lines of defense, the expert noted.
"The ammunition will be able to burn through both the ground that covers the pillbox and the structure itself," he noted.
How to create ammunition for drones
Different types of ammunition have previously been developed and tested in practice for drones. In particular, the X-UAV missile was made on the basis of the modified Kornet anti-tank missile system. It exists both in the cumulative version for the destruction of armored vehicles, and in high-explosive fragmentation.
The attack version of the Forpost-RU UAV is equipped with air–to-surface guided missiles. Two containers with guided missiles, a satellite communications antenna, as well as target designation and surveillance systems were installed on the drone.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
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The Vortex-M supersonic missile is being tested for the Pacer UAV. During the special operation, it proved itself well in attacks from domestic Mi-28NM and Ka-52 attack helicopters.
Unmanned aircraft is one of the most dynamically developing areas. Since the beginning of the special military operation, there has been a constant development of UAVs and saturation of the army and navy forces with them. In December, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov announced that a new branch of the armed forces would be created in Russia — the troops of unmanned systems. Their formation will be completed in the third quarter of this year. Belousov noted that the massive use of drones has become the most significant breakthrough in the tactics of units of the Russian Armed Forces. According to the minister, Russian troops use more than 3,500 drones every day, and this figure is growing.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
Image source: iz.ru
In August last year, the Rubicon Center for advanced unmanned technologies was established by the military department on the basis of one of the combat units of unmanned aviation. He is engaged in the training of operators of UAVs and robotic complexes (RTK), as well as the development and implementation of new RTK systems in the military. One of the key areas of Rubicon's work is the training of highly qualified instructors from among drone operators with combat experience.
Roman Kretsul
Andrey Fedorov
